


And a Rose Tattoo to Match

by orphan_account



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bikers, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Bikers, Coffee Shops, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Game Spoilers, M/M, Pastels, Reincarnation, Slow Burn, Sorry?, Spoilers, a good dad too, but we'll see..., cant believe the regalia is considered an actual character tbh, cor is such a dad tbh, eventually, har dee har har, i really wanna step up my angst game, its not very well written thats for sure, not much angst in the beginning, okay, so here ya go, so there's quite a bit of angst, trust me - Freeform, uh, um
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2017-10-13
Packaged: 2018-12-21 15:03:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11946744
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "It's midnight. It's night time, the moon is out there in all it's glory, I could probably count every star in the universe right now - and yet here I am, staring into the sun."





	1. The Nights Before the Storms

Prompto woke up with start, sweating bullets in the tiny space inside the tent. Three other men were sharing it with him, three of his best friends, and though he genuinely cared for them, he could most certainly do without the excessive body heat.

"Man, this heat's killin' me..." he mumbled to himself, dragging his body out of his sleeping bag and into the chilly night air. He collapsed onto the the nearest rock and breathed out heavily.

"I'm never gonna get any sleep at this rate," he thought to himself. Immersed in his own thought, he didn't notice the figure sitting at the side of the nearby stream, silently watching.

"Can't sleep?"

"Aa-aAAH!" Prompto fell off his rock.

The figure snickered. "I see you're just fine, Prom."

"N-Noctis?" Prompto squinted his eyes. In the late night light, he could just barely make out the silhouette of spiky hair and a thin fishing rod. "Why in the Astral's names are you _fishing_ at ni-"

"Shh!" Noctis cuts him off, "Iggy might hear us! And in case you were wondering, I have no intentions of having Ignis shove my fishing rod right up my-"

"Okay, now it's _my_ turn to cut you off there, buddy," Prompto chuckles, holding hands up as if to defend himself from the impurity of Noctis' words.

"Shut _up_ , asshole," Noctis laughs, then refocuses himself on his fishing line. Then, he looks out over the horizon. The clouds cleared for a minute, and the pale moonlight lit up the ground around them - and Noctis too. The way the white light made his features glow ever so slightly caused Prompto's breath to catch in his throat. His eyes carefully watched the way Noctis licked his lips, or rubbed his eyes, or-

"I couldn't sleep."

"H-Hm?" Prompto looked up to meet his eyes. Noctis wasn't looking.

"I don't know, man- I just couldn't go to sleep. I had this feeling that something bad's gonna happen, and I _still_ can't shake it off."

"What- really?" Prompto twisted his mouth in contemplation. "Huh. Well, I guess it's only fitting."

"The fuck?" A little irritated, Noctis turned to look at Prompto, only to be met with a shit eating grin.

"Only makes sense that the prince of Insomnia had sleeping problems."

"Oh- ha ha, very funny," Noctis rolled his eyes, trying to hide the small grin vying for a spot on his mouth. "Fuck you, too.”

Prompto's heart stopped before he realized exactly what Noctis said.

_What the hell, Prompto?_ He thought. _What was I expecting?_

Noctis suddenly got up and stretched next to him, breaking Prompto out of his thoughts. "We should go back and try to sleep. It's, like, three in the morning. Ignis is gonna kill us." Prompto nodded, helped clean up the fishing supplies, and walked with Noctis back to the camp site.

\--

The next few days were undeniable hell for Prompto.

Every time he and Noctis got even two minutes alone, he remembered those ten seconds where Noctis was-

No. He refused to say it. If he admitted it, it might make what happened that night on the lake real. Then he would *really* be in trouble.

But now he couldn't be around Noctis without becoming massively uncomfortable. All of a sudden, his neck would burn, and his fingers would suddenly be slightly jittery, and his clothes would feel too tight on his b-

**No.**

_Stop thinking, Prompto!_ He chastised himself. _You can't let this affect you!_

Unfortunately, his little pep talk to himself didn't do anything.

One day, when they were out driving to Hammerhead to pay Cindey a visit, Noctis suddenly began to tap Ignis' shoulder violently.

"Ignis, Ignis, Ignis! I saw something over the- stop the car- stop it! The brakes, Ignis!" After a lurching stop (that may or may not have resulted in Prompto slamming face first into the back of Noctis' seat) and multiple eye rolls from Noctis, the four got out of the car and began the hunt for the shiny something Noctis saw on the ground somewhere.

As they were scouring the area, a Magitek airship snuck up behind them and dropped a group of Magitek Axemen. This time, no one had caught sight of it in time, and it managed to deal a heavy blow on Gladiolus before anyone noticed.

"Shit!" Gladio, a startled man now, pulled out his great sword and slammed the axeman into a nearby boulder.

Now thoroughly alert, the other three pulled out their weapons and began to fight. Within twenty seconds, an unprepared Prompto was already dangerously close to dying. He limped away, ashamed, and tried to shoot from the outer circle. Noctis rushed up to him and helped him out.

As Prompto's health regenerated, he was suddenly acutely aware of Noctis' hand on his tailbone, helping him up. It burned, so badly, and yet...

"Come on, princess," Noctis chuckled. "Am I supposed to be the dainty royalty, or are you?" With that, he jogged back into the fight, leaving Prompto alone with his thoughts.

"Right. Right," he mumbled as he ran back in. And he did do well this time - better than before. However, when he had turned around for two seconds to check on Noctis, an axeman came up behind him and swung downwards.

The last thing he remembered was a panicked Ignis, running to him as his world turned dark.

\--

"...not a surface wound....ake days to...."

"Well, will he.....t all?......on't potions just....."

".....not help that much..... not in this case...."

Prompto slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he registered was how bright the sunlight was.

The second thing was the burning sensation in his shoulders.

"Aahh!" He cried out, alerting the two people nearby. He realized it was Ignis and Noctis.

"Prompto! Are you alr- well, clearly not... uhm. Where does it hurt?" Noctis asked.

"My- my shoulders. My spine, it burns," Prompto rasped out.

"Prompto, listen to me. Pay attention to nothing but the sound of my voice." Ignis spoke soothingly. The pain began to sit in the back of Prompto's mind as he listened to Ignis. 

"The axeman managed to cut through your spine into the spinal cord. The potion I gave you immediately, paired with the fact that it barely touched the cord, aided in the fact that you can still move your legs. However," he added sternly, "the doctor said you aren't to try anything rash, and to stay in bed for at least another two days. Potions won't help much, so just rest. You can walk and such, just don't go running any marathons."

Prompto sighed and rolled his eyes, but promised to do so anyways.

"Alright. Gladio is out buying ingredients, but now I have to go check to make sure that he's not just splurging on Cup Noodles. I'll be right back," Ignis said as he left the room. "Noctis, watch Prompto for me."

"Alright," Noctis said, but Ignis was already gone. He sighed, pulled up a chair, and flung himself onto it. Rolling his eyes, Prompto looked at Noctis, silently judging his actions.

"I can hear you judging me, Prom."

"The fuck, man?" Prompto laughed, the burning sensation fading into a faint sting quickly. "You can't read minds, you know. The magic you draw from the crystal is powerful and all, but it's not _that_ strong."

"Well, yeah. But your eyes speak volumes."

Prompto laughed even harder, and then Noctis started to chuckle, and eventually was laughing along with him.

Then Prompto remembered Noctis' face in the moonlight and the bandages around his neck and shoulders suddenly felt so constraining.

He let out a shaky breath.

Carefully, Prompto began to pull himself up into a sitting position. When Noctis tried to help him, he just batted his arms away.

"I can do this, don't worry," he laughed.

This semi-awkward banter lasted another forty minutes until Ignis and Gladiolus came home.

"We're back!" Announced Gladio, triumphantly holding three plastic bags.

"I was too _late_ he had already spent _half the fucking budget_ on Cup Noodles of _all things_ not that I'm particularly surprised I should've known bett-"

"Relax, Ignis!" Gladio's laughter filled the room. "You still bought your stuff, why're your panties in a twist?"

"Oh, Astrals, spare me, _please_." Ignis sighed and rolled his eyes almost audibly.

"Nice to see you two getting along," Noctis chuckled. Prompto laughed with him.

"Okay, Prompto. Feeling any better?" Asked Gladiolus. "That Assman really did a number on you."

"Assman? And yeah, Ignis gave me a potion, and it eased the pain a little bit." Prompto smiled, and for a fraction of a second, he thought he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Noctis flinch.

Out of the blue, Gladio's phone went off. "It's Iris, she's waiting for me outside the hotel. Noct, you mind coming?"

"Huh- what- uhhh... who, me?" Noctis fumbled with his words for a moment.

"Nah, the _other_ guy in the room who's literally named Night Light- yes, you!" Gladio walked up to Noctis, grabbed his arm, walked over to the door.

"Wha- hey, my name does not mean Night Light!"

"Tell _that_ to the Romans!" Was the last thing Prompto heard before the both of them left his earshot.

Ignis sighed, resting his hands on the kitchen countertop. "He's a prince...and he's a royal guard....smacking sense into them must illegal, right?"

"Uh, Ignis?" Prompto was suddenly concerned for Noct and Gladio's safety.

"Well, there must be _some_ loophole... right?"

"Iggy?" Prompto scooted under the covers a smidgeon more.

"That's it!" And Ignis left Prompto alone with his rapidly darkening thoughts.

 

* * *

 

 

He woke up with a start again. For some reason, in his dreams, he's been seeing more and more of what seems to be a lab in his dreams.

Not the dog kind, unfortunately. The scientific kind.

Prompto turned to face the clock - a little past midnight. He blinked slowly.

"I've gotta stop waking up as Astrals-know-when in the night- huh?"

A shadowy figure resting at the foot of his bed caught his attention. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was Noctis, sleeping peacefully with his head at Prompto's feet.

"Shit- Noctis! Noct, wake up!" He shook his friend, his hand burning at the touch, yet completely disregarding it.

"Hnn?" A sleepy grown came from Noctis' threat, and it went straight to Prompto's crotch. He dug his fingers a little deeper into Noctis's shoulder.

"Dude. Get up. You should go sleep in your bed," he said, pushing off Noctis gently.

"Mm, nah. I think I'll stay here."

"The fuck you will, dumbass! Go to bed."

"Well, its only fair, you know!" Noctis became more defensive.

"What? How is this," Prompto gestured to Noctis' shoddy sleeping arrangements, " 'only fair' ?!"

"You got hit because you were checking on me, weren't you?"

"I- what?!" Prompto was caught off guard.

"I saw the way you were looking at me." The wording caused Prompto's heart to race. "You were checking how I was doing, and because of me, you almost died."

"Well, not _because of you,_ per se-"

"It doesn't matter. I feel like shit. Let me do this, please." The look on Noctis' face, of pure remorse, made Prompto rethink for a minute. He came to decision.

"Fine. But it has to be on this bed, if you're so insistent on monitoring me while I sleep."

"I'm not _monitoring_ you-"

"Yeah, yeah - whatever princess," chuckled Prompto as he tugged Noctis onto the bed. Only after Noctis curled up against Prompto, and after the shooting pain in his neck signified he strained himself, did he realize how bad of an idea this was.

Now, crown prince Noctis Lucis Caelum, heir to the throne of Lucis, and the hottest piece of ass around, is _literally fucking spooning him_. If that doesn't make Prompto hard, then it's Noctis' arms around Prompto.

But these arousing emotions are quickly over shadowed by the pain in his neck and shoulders.

"Hey, Prom, you okay?" Noctis, concerned, asked over Prompto's shoulder.

"Yeah, just strained myself a little bit there. Nothing too bad."

"You sure? You don't look too hot."

"Nah, I'm fine, man."   _Trust me, I am **extremely** hot - and bothered!_

"Mmkay," said Noctis, and then he buried his face into the side of Prompto's neck and quickly fell asleep.

Prompto just about died right then.

And he was _sure_ of his death when he felt something snaking down his abdomen, and gently pry its way into his pants.

Noctis couldn't possibly be-

Could he?

Suddenly something grabbed at his underwear, at the wrong (right?) place. Prompto inhaled sharply, causing the grip on his dick to become tighter.

Twisting his hands into the sheets, Prompto silently endured (enjoyed?) fingers gently rubbing where he wanted it the least (most?). One bad (good?) touch, and-

"Ah!" He gasped, and Noctis' hands slid into his briefs and grabbed.

"Mmnn," Prompto moaned. "N-Noct..." He could barely breathe, barely speak as Noctis continued working magic. "Aah, h-haah!"

He bit his lip in an effort to quiet himself. Noctis made sure it was in vain.

His hand circled around Prompto's dick, and slowly, torturously, he started to pump him, up and down.

Prompto had enough of this. His hand shot down and grabbed Noctis'. Noctis suddenly got up with a start.

"S-sorry, d'you want me to st-"

"It's too hot in here," exhaled Prompto. "Fix it."

Within moments, his shirt was gone, and so were his pants. Noctis quickly shucked off his own shirt, and pinned his hands next to Prompto's head.

"Look at me. Prompto."

Reluctantly, Prompto made eye contact. He was met with a hard steely gaze from Noct.

"You wouldn't happen to have any condoms on you, would you?"

Prompto started laughing.

"Wh-what?! What is it?" Noctis suddenly turned pink.

"S-sorry, it's just ni-nice to know you're just as unprepared as I am!" Prompto managed to spit out a sentence between his laughter. Noctis sighed, smiling.

"So I take it you don't."

"Mmm, no. I wasn't planning on getting fucked by the crown prince of Lucis."

"I- well, that's _one_ way to put it-"

"Please," Prompto rolled his eyes. "That's the _only_ way to put it."

Noctis sighed again, then pressed a kiss against the bandages on Prompto. "Do you know how long I've been waiting?"

"I dunno how long _you've_ been waiting, but _I've_ been waiting since at least that night-"

"-by the pond?" Noctis finished. "Me too."

"No fucking way," said Prompto, only to be silenced by kisses trailing down his chest, onto his abs, hanging on the elastic of his underwear.

His heart beat faster as Noctis used his teeth to gently pull it down, and suddenly he was stark naked.

Reflexively, he put his arms over his body. Immediately, Noctis removed them.

"Don't bother, we've seen each other bathe plenty of times," he said.

"Uh, dude? Since when?"

Noctis balked for a second. "Doesn't matter. What *does* matter is that for tonight, your body is-"

"No, no, nonononono. No. You tell me when you've seen me bathe-"

"That's irrelevant!" Noctis quickly grabbed Prompto's ass, successfully distracting Prompto.

The dark look in Noctis' eyes melted, just a little bit, into something else. Prompto looked on as Noctis’ eyes turned red, then black.

_What?_ Prompto wondered as he watched, shocked. Noctis’ pupils seemed to be dilating a little _too_ much, then they seemed to suddenly take over his eyes.

In horror, Prompto saw as Noct’s body paled and contorted, and his pitch-black eyes emanated nothing but sheer malice. His hands seem to dig a little too hard into Prompto’s thigh, and as he drew blood and Prompto cried out, Noctis somehow began to grow in size.

“Worthless,” said a booming voice, and it took Prompto a second to realize it was coming from “Noctis,” if he could even call him that. “Worthless, worthless, worthless. What a burden. So heavy on us. Heavy, heavy, heavy.”

“S-Stop it, Noctis!” The fact that Prompto was naked only made him feel more vulnerable. He covered his ears, but the voice managed to worm into his brain. The room warped with Noctis’ voice as he spoke.

“Useless useless useless worthless worthless wor _thless worthless heavy heavy heavy heavy heavy HEAVY HEAVYHEAVYHEAVYHEAVYHEA-”_

“Stop it!” Prompto shrieked and

 

suddenly he had bolted upright and was in the hotel bed.

[Alone.](https://pre10.deviantart.net/23dc/th/pre/f/2017/241/d/5/poor_bab_by_naratu21-dblrxrd.png)


	2. Destruction Makes Way for Creation and Recreation

“Never, I am _never_ doing that again,” mumbled Prompto. He rubbed the last bits of monster goo off his clothes, even though he already knew it would disintegrate with the last bits of the body. He had just gone up against an Iron Giant that he _knew_ was just out of his league, even with his extensive background in hunting.

Ever since Noctis has disappeared within the crystal, and the sun disappeared, he’d been going out on hunting missions - sometimes with Gladio and Iggy, sometimes solo. This was a solo mission, and _boy_ , did he bite off more than he could chew this time. That Iron Giant wasn’t even the first demon he encountered that he knew was too tough for a solo mission.

He headed back to Hammerhead, where he knew Gladiolus and Ignis were waiting for him. They’d already gone on a mission together today anyways, and they were just resting up there.

As he walked past the gates into Hammerhead, he noticed Ignis was on a phone call. He at first thought it was just someone contacting him to ask for help in hunting some demon or the other. But when he saw the look on Ignis’ face, a smile ghosting his features, he realized it might be something else.

“What’s up?” He asked Gladio after Ignis finished the call.

“We just got a call from Talcott,” he said.

“The pri- the king… he’s back.”

* * *

 

Within the five minutes it took for Noctis to get his ass back to Hammerhead, Prompto had already returned, changed, and fixed himself.

After that night at the hotel, Prompto distanced himself a little bit from Noctis. He was careful to not let it show, and it seems he did a good job, because the young king never noticed anything. And when Noctis disappeared, well, he didn’t need to try as hard, now, did he?

The deep rumble of an engine pulled into the driveway, and Prompto stepped out of Cid’s garage. Out of the car stepped…

None other that the king. Noctis Lucis Caelum.

The ten years within the crystal didn’t seem to treat him any better than the rest of us, Prompto thought. His hair was long and messy, his clothes looked dirty and awkward on the thrity-year-old, and he had a scruffy beard.

As soon as Noct saw him, though, his face instantly lit up.

“Prompto!” He looked around. “You guys,” he smiled, albeit with a little less enthusiasm this time.

* * *

 

The King was gone.

Prompto returned to the throne room with Ignis and Gladio. He saw Noctis, sitting on the throne, a sword through his body-

No, not just any sword. His _father’s_ sword.

The sight in front of him suddenly blurred. What? Had his lens gone out of focus, or-

Oh wait. He wasn’t using his camera. These were tears.

Before he knew it, Prompto had run up the crumbling steps, tripping over rocks, unaware of the sobs that Ignis and Gladio could hear as they chased after him. He ran to the throne, barely able to make out was in front of him, and collapsed in a heap at Noctis’ feet. He reached up to grab Noct’s hands and once he touched his soft skin, it disintegrated.

Prompto was inconsolable. All Ignis and Gladio could do was watch and silently grieve with him.

* * *

 

He’d tried to pick up his life again. He’d tried hitting on Cindy like he’d done before, and it actually worked this time. But every time he would look at her face, he would suddenly be reminded of why she said ever said yes in the first place. He couldn’t look her in the eyes.

He tried to get a job. He had a lot of interviews, and got accepted for good many – but over time, the overwhelming emotion that overtook him every dawn he had to face lead him to quit his day jobs. Prompto took up photography, something he rarely found himself doing once the sun came back, and took photos mostly at night. People bought them like crazy – they loved his mysterious, ominous photos of the nighttime.

He loved the way the moonlight hit objects shrouded in nothing but darkness.

* * *

 

The day Prompto died, he died alone.

He had outlived all his friends. Gladio died on a mission – after a particularly grueling fight, he was tired, and a particularly nasty Behemoth snuck up behind him. His old bones, strong as they may have been, were too worn by age and time to win the second fight, not after that first one.

Ignis passed peacefully in his sleep. No goodbyes were said, no tears were shed, he simply… didn’t wake up the next morning.

Iris and Talcott, well, they _did_ outlive Prompto. Not by long, but they did.

Cindy died of heart complications. She was too old to be doing so much grunt work in the garage, and she ignored Prompto’s warnings. Like grandfather, like granddaughter, I guess; Prompto had just written it off, and he wished he didn’t.

Everyone who knew Prompto and was still alive, they didn’t bother to come to his last days. He lay there, alone in his bed, looking at the sun outside of his window. The pinks and oranges of the sunset almost commanded Prompto’s attention, leaving him unable to look away.

His shaking hand reached out for his camera. With enough space for one last picture, he spent it on a shot of the sun – the only one on his roll – bright and yellow against the rapidly darkening sky.

Smiling at the picture, and rubbing away the tears accumulating on it, he turned it off and set it aside.

He closed his eyes as the sun dipped under the horizon, and the sky turned black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk how the fuck to title chapters sorry
> 
> oh also. I tried something new with how I write kinda sad scenes:
> 
> Writing them at all.
> 
> I don't do sad - I do really happy, sickeningly sweet. I'm very bad at angst.
> 
> Feel free to tell me what I did wrong and what I did right! Thanks :)
> 
> also it's short sorry :,(


	3. An Overcast Morning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this isn't very long. i already have quite a bit of story written, but at random points in the story - things are just coming to me in random order, so yeah.
> 
> in case you haven't noticed, i'm just kinda going with whatever atm.
> 
> good lord i need 2 check myself b4 i wreck myself.
> 
> aight well pls enjoy hope u like it :)

At 11:33 PM, October 24th, a woman was rushed into the labor ward of Lucis Hospital. Her husband stood outside the room, listening to his wife wail in pain. Their pregnancy had been a risky one – his wife had always been a very delicate woman, and this child took a serious toll on her health.

Pacing outside, knuckles in his mouth, he wondered if his wife would be alright.

At 12:14 AM, October 25th, a doctor came out.

“How is she?”

“Well, the baby’s still not out yet. My team is still working on her, and she’s in good hands, don’t worry.” The doctor smiled. “I came out to tell you that things are going shockingly smooth for such a turbulent pregnancy. Have patience, and relax. We have a coffee machine in the waiting room – it looks like you might need it.” With that, he walked back inside the room, shutting the door behind him.

The man heaved a sigh. With heavy feet, he trudged down to the waiting room, and turned on the coffee machine.

This was going to be a long, _long_ night.

* * *

With a jolt, Prompto bolted out of bed.

He sighed, his eyelids heavy, raking his hand through his hair. It was a sultry spring night, not odd for the city of Insomnia, where the climate was always muggy on cloudy nights. Still, even with his shirt off, the stagnant air was killing him.

He managed to drag his body out of the comforts of his bed and open a window. It didn’t do much – outside was just as stifling as inside – but hey, anything helps, right?

“I’m not… I’m not gonna fucking live very long with these goddamn nightmares,” he sighed. “I’m so done.”

Just then, a knock on his door brought him out of his sad little reverie. Prompto glanced at his clock; the only person who’d know at 3:42 in the morning would be-

“Prompto?” It was Cor.

Prompto sighed, then smiled. “Yeah, Dad. What is it?” He threw on a shirt and opened the door. Cor immediately stepped in.

“The alarm downstairs went off – I’m assuming due to the window,” he nodded his head towards said window, “and I got a little concerned.”

“Dad, please. Who’s gonna break in?” He chuckled. “We’re on the eleventh floor.”

“Yeah, I _know,_ ” Cor laughed with him. “I knew you’d open the window. And if you’re awake at this time...” He trailed off, giving Prompto A Look ™.

“Yeah, yeah. I get it.” Prompto rolled his eyes and plopped back onto his bed. “And before you ask: yes, it was about my dad. My first one, at least.”

Cor sighed, a little too loudly for Prompto to be okay with.  “Look, Prompto-”

“Save it. It’s the same thing, you say the _same thing_ to me every damn time.” He felt bad about the way he spoke to his own dad, but he knew he’d be forgiven.

The bed shook as Cor sat next to Prompto. “Your dad was a piece of shit.”

“Well. That’s new.”

“Yeah, well, he was.” Cor put his hand on Prompto’s shoulder. “He didn’t deserve a smart, kind kid like you, and- hey, don’t roll your eyes, Prompto! I know you’re not a kid,” he chuckled. “But your father sure acted like one.”

Prompto couldn’t help it – he chuckled a little bit. “Alright, alright. Can we talk about something else?”

“Better idea – how about you go the fuck to sleep?” This time, Prompto laughed harder.

“Point taken. That means you’ve gotta leave.” With a shove, Prompto managed to push Cor off the bed.

“He- whoa- Hey!”

Finally, after a hug and a goodnight, Cor left, and Prompto was alone with his thoughts again.

“Goodnight,” he said to no one in particular, and reached over to shut off his lamp.

* * *

Prompto didn’t sleep at all, and got out of bed at five the next morning, as per usual on Mondays, and got dressed.

He runs his own little shop, a seedy little shop in the seedy part of the city, and he loves it – every faded tile, every crack in the walls, and every dusty crevice. He loves all of it. The only downside is how early he has to come in to do routine cleaning and sanitation.

Whatever. It makes him happy, the reliability of it all. So he does it, every morning, day in and day out.

On this particular morning, Prompto couldn’t have felt more like a pile of shit. Not only was his sleep deprivation killing him, but the overcast pre-dawn sky also put a damper on his mood. Still, he tugged on his pale red sweater (he would _never_ admit that it’s really just pink) and jeans, and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

He gathered his things and left the house as silently as he could. Cor was a nice guy, but not a fun guy to be with in the early morning.

Prompto scrolled through his phone as he walked, just generally checking his notifications, when he gets a message from his co-worker, Aranea.

**_hey prom im here and somethings a lil bit off  
_ ** _5:43 – aranea high-tailing it tf outta here_

**_just wanted 2 let u know  
_ ** _5:43 – aranea high-tailing it tf outta here_

**_so u dont have a heart attack :)  
_ ** _5:44 – aranea high-tailing it tf outta here_

Prompto took a minute. Change? In his shop’s part of the neighborhood?

**_uhh alrighty then. wat kinda change????  
_ ** _5:47 – prompto-ly stealin yo man_

He rolled his shoulders back, put his phone away, and jogged his way to his shop. If there was change that was as drastic as Aranea made it seem, then he wanted to go see it – _now_.

He was not prepared for what came next.

He slowed to a halt on the street that housed his shop. He took one look at the shop he stopped in front of – Mercury Tattoos – and froze.

He then looked down the street. Sophiar Mechanics, Café de Chocobo, a Hallmark, Mercury Tattoos, and Lux: Artisan Flowers.

Prompto tugged on his pale red sweater and began to sweat nervously, as he ran down the street. He took a glance at the florist once more, then at the tattoo shop. He shook his head as he stared at the florist. Then he knocked on the tattoo shop door, wanting a word with the person inside.

“Aranea, what the fuck.” Prompto stepped inside, tugged on his sweater, then handed his bag to his coworker. He flipped the sign on the door – _Now Open!_ – and turned back to the silver-haired lady.

“You noticed, huh,” she grinned as she leaned nonchalantly against the counter she placed his bag on.

“Of fucking course I remembered! Since when did Gold Bakers close up shop?”

“Uh, overnight, I guess? And before you ask, no, Cindy did _not_ give word of anything like closing her business.”

“Damn,” Prompto sighed. “D’you at least know where she is now?”

“Yeah – working with her grandfather at Sophiar’s.” Aranea was going around the store, wiping down the seats with sanitary wipes.

“Cid’s her grandfather?” Prompto was also helping out with cleaning up – he picked up a broom and started sweeping the floor, even though he’d already swept the floor the day before. “I didn’t know that.”

“Well, now you do,” Aranea said just as the bell hanging over the door jingled, marking the first customer of the day.

_A customer at six in the morning?_ Prompto was skeptical. He set the broomstick down and turned around.

_Oh,_ he thought. _Not a customer._

A young man, about Prompto’s height and stature, had sauntered into the store, taking a quick look around. He had dark black hair that was styled a little conspicuously – although who was Prompto to talk? – and he wore a dark outfit that only helped to contrast his skin, making him seem paler than he actually was.

The first thing about this man that struck Prompto, however, was the number of body modifications this guy had. He had ear piercings, including cartilage on both ears, one tiny as hell black nose stud, and numerous tattoos.

The second thing that struck Prompto, the thing that made him sure that this was no customer, was the bright pink-and-green apron this dark and mysterious man was wearing. It said, in fancy green embroidery, “Lux Florists Staff.”

Prompto narrowed his eyes.

“So, this is my new neighbor?” The man smiled at Prompto, which caught him off guard. He had a surprisingly friendly smile.

“Uh- y- yeah, I guess so. I’m assuming you’re from the flower shop next door?”

“Yep, that’s me. So, I didn’t quite catch your name?”

“You didn’t catch it because I never gave it to you,” Prompto snapped. From across the room, he heard Aranea gasp a little bit.

“Damn,” said the guy. “Why are you so pissy? I was just trying to be nice.”

To be fair, he really was being polite, and Prompto knew that. He actually didn’t really know why he was being so bitchy to this poor dude who was just being friendly.

He was probably just irked that Cindy wasn’t his neighbor anymore.

Prompto, red from embarrassment, grabbed the broomstick and began to attack the nothing he was sweeping up. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap.” He sighed. This felt like admitting defeat to him. “Just – not the best of days. You know?” As he turned around, he realized that the florist was no longer behind him, but rather he had moved closer to the back of the store near Aranea.

“Oh, sorry,” he chuckled, a laugh that didn’t quite sit well with Prompto. “Just wanted to look around.”

Prompto narrowed his eyes, but didn’t say anything of it. “Mmkay. Well, my name’s Prompto Argentum. Sorry for being a dick.” He shrugged. “What’s yours?”

“It’s Noctis. Noctis Caelum.” The man, Noctis, walked towards Prompto. His figured seemed to loom over Prompto, despite being his height – however, Prompto held his ground with ease.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Caelum,” said Prompto. He held his hand out, and Noctis took it.

“Please. ‘Noctis’ is fine.”

“Noctis it is, then.” Prompto continued to sweep at nothing, focusing only on the impeccable floor, even as the bell above the door jingled as Noctis left.

Aranea ambled up to Prompto and leaned on his shoulder. “Fuck, man. I’ve never seen you so cold to someone you’ve never met before. Unless you _have_ met him before – have you?”

“Nah,” said Prompto, lightly brushing off her elbow. “Never met the guy.”

“Yeah, well, in that case, since y’all don’t have bad history, why not trying to act a little civilized? You know, like actual friendly neighbors do?”

“I so _am_ civilized!” Prompto said, offended.

“Oh, please. Weren’t you the one who told me that you didn’t know how to use urinals until you were fourteen? And up until then you sat down to pee, like a lil’ bitch?”

“ _Aranea!_ ” Prompto dropped the broom for a little bit to shove a chuckling Aranea. “I thought you promised not to speak of that; I trusted you!”

“Ha! That was your _first_ mistake!” Aranea said as she darted off before Prompto could catch and attempt to decapitate her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls help
> 
> my writing skills r struggling
> 
> im swamped w/ homework and shit
> 
> i crie
> 
> halp pl0x


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